It is a rule at the Eurovision Song Contest and self-evident: the country that wins organizes the song contest itself the following year. The exceptions to this can be counted on one hand: Monaco won in 1971, for example, but no suitable location was found in the tiny state for the 1972 edition. The British public broadcaster then took over the organization and the circus moved to Edinburgh.
“But for a country to win at war, that is an unprecedented situation,” said Sietse Bakker, member of the Eurovision steering committee and producer of the Song Contest in Rotterdam last year. “There is no script ready for this.”
The Ukrainians have already indicated that they would prefer to organize the Eurovision Song Contest themselves in a “peaceful and reunited Ukraine”. “Of course I understand very well that Ukraine says that. That would mean that that terrible war is over,” says Bakker. “But there are also other options because in order to organize a Eurovision Song Contest, we must be able to guarantee the safety of everyone who visits the festival.”
“In the coming weeks, there will be strong discussions between the EBU, which organizes the Song Contest, and the Ukrainians,” said Bakker.
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